Breaks In Tradition
by needsmoreicing
Summary: She's fifteen minutes late and though she swears it's traffic, they both know that it's from her hitting the snooze button too many times and rushing out the door in a panic. But it's tradition and he wouldn't change her anyway. JONAS: Nacy. For Beth (chocolatebearturk) for her birthday!


A/N: It's been awhile since I've done some fluff! Happy birthday chocolatebearturk! Hope it's awesome!

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She can't think of when the tradition began or why they continued to bother with it anymore. It's not as if they both don't have better things to be doing than sweating their asses off in the heat and she always insists that he doesn't need to take off work and spend the day with her. It always happens though, not that she's really complaining. He arrives at the coffee shop on time and grabs a seat outside; She's late by fifteen minutes and swears it was the traffic, even though they both know it's from her hitting the snooze too many times and rushing out the door in a panic. But never the less, he hands her a smartly decorated box with a bakery logo on it and she's curious as to what flavor he picked. Last time it was honey suckle and lavender, and the time before that was Mississippi Mud Slide, and Macy knew she'd be lying if she said that she could remember the flavor of the cupcake Nick bought for her three years ago. Even though she would swear up and down that it had something to do with lemons.

It's the same thing every year, the only thing changing is their appearance and, though they'd never admit it, how they're starting to realize that being just friends isn't working anymore. Macy struggles to not run a hand over his head and feel the newly buzzed cut that he's taken a preference to and Nick tries to remember the last time he's seen her actually wear her glasses in place of her contacts. They both succeed and it's those little victories of denial that keep them a float. So they continue with tradition like they always have.

Nick grins as she removes the bow, tying it on her pinkie and turning it to catch the light a few times and trying to redirect it into his eyes. It doesn't work, it never does, but that doesn't stop her from trying. Her chocolate eyes narrow as she carefully lifts the lid, inspecting if she ruined the piping by having it stick to the top of the lid and smirking in satisfaction when it doesn't. He thinks it's funny that he can still find it adorable after watching her do the same process for seven years. Nick waits while she makes the list in her head of possible cupcake flavors. Macy rotates the box once, twice, and a third time just to make sure she's seen it at every angle the confection has to offer her in its tiny cardboard prison. Her brow gets this tiny knot in it and she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her pinkie, the bow tickling her nose and she twitches it because she forgot it was there. He laughs as she rolls her eyes at her own forgetfulness, a tiny coat of red creeps up her neck.

She lists off the possibilities; Humming Bird cake would be deliciously cruel because of her allergy to pineapple, but that can't be it because she can smell the coffee. Nick nods with a bemused smile.

There's a slight swirl in the cake, indicating at some type of flavoring but it's not fruit. Another nod.

It has something to do with chocolate because there are all sorts of obvious chocolate frills and swirls that she's waiting to consume and her mouth waters as she tells him. Nick is generous enough to add a smile along with his nod this time and it causes her stomach to do that flipping thing that she's not always sure she likes. This is further in their game than she usually makes it, but he let's her continue anyway.

Unfortunately her patience is not something that has grown with age as Macy makes a quick stab at the cake with her fork. Nick parries with his own, and his smirk is met with a challenging gleam in her eye. She jabs and he blocks, forward advance met with another fork in her way, and finally Macy just sets the fork down and crosses her arms. Claiming that battling over a cupcake that's her's is just childish, but he knows it's because she just wants the chocolate now she knows it's there and that her competitive streak would have kept her from demolishing the tiny treat.

Nick's large hands easily dwarfs the box of sparklers he's holding, but he plucks one out of the pack with ease and sticks it right in the middle of the cake; it's a bull's eye every single time. Macy removes the box, nibbling on the chocolate shavings that just so _happened _to get stuck on her fingers. He never calls her on it, even as he sees her blatantly flick one off on to the board just to be picked up and savored. Nick digs the lighter out of his pocket, still wrapped in the purchase receipt from this morning and he stuffs that back in to his pocket with a grin. It takes him a few tries, and a few snickers from his counterpart, before he remembers to adjust the lighter fluid and the firework leaps to life before them.

"Okay birthday girl, make a wish."

And they wait while it burns, hissing and popping away before them. Because she doesn't wish, and hasn't for a very long time even before this tradition started and she thinks that they both know that. But she thinks of her year.

The two jobs in addition to classes for her to finally graduate college, her unfortunate black eye the week of her family reunion, the crumbling of her parents marriage, the ungodly witch of a woman her brother decided to get hitched to, and her throat tightens, the unexpected passing of her grandfather. Maybe one of her best friends on this good green Earth had left her, and it struck a chord.

For the first time, Macy breaks tradition. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She thinks of her dreams and all the things she hasn't done yet. The world beyond her small pond and other cities with their gleaming lights that beckoned her. And she thinks of the man before her, that celebrates this day every year without fail and that she might be in love with; and blows out the light.

Nick's surprise is plain as day to her, and she just smiles while readjusting her glasses.

"I have to shake things up for you now and again. How else am I going to keep you around?" Her stomach does that leaping thing again, and she decides that maybe she should just get used to it as a huge grin goes across his face and he takes her hand in his.

"Well, what did you wish for?" Nick knows that she wont tell him as he picks up his fork and spears the cake before popping it into his mouth. Macy rolls her eyes with a grin as she squeezes his hand.

"I wished for you to stop taking the first bite of my cake, but I guess that didn't work out." Her eyes gleam with mirth and something else, something that makes him excited to see the light back in her eyes. He can't help himself as he kisses the back of her hand with a full-hearted laugh. She has to be positively glowing at this point, and he knows it has nothing to do with the sun sinking behind her.

"Maybe next year." She laughs at his response and digs in with a happy smile. It's tiramisu and for once she's glad he picked something normal.

"Yeah, maybe next year we should just come together instead of me making you wait."

He stops and thinks about it. "Only if I can hold your hand." It's her turn to think, and she's suddenly very glad she made that wish. "It's a big break in tradition though."

"You know," She laughs while plopping some icing on the tip of his nose, "I think we'll manage."


End file.
